Nadda should champion state’s cause, say ministers

Health Minister Dhani Ram Shandil and Technical Education Minister Rajesh Dharmani today advised BJP president and Union Minister for Health JP Nadda “to stop lying and instead fulfil his duty as a Himachali”. They said Nadda should use his position to champion the state’s cause at the central level and help secure what rightfully belongs to the people of the state from the Centre.

The ministers pointed out the Congress-led government had rehabilitated disaster-affected families with a special financial package of Rs 4,500 crore from its own resources last year, but financial claims amounting to Rs 10,000 crore were still pending with the Central government. “The Union minister should play an active role in facilitating the release of these funds, along with Rs 9,200 crore stuck with the central government under the National Pension Scheme (NPS) and Rs 4,500 crore in arrears from Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB),” they said.

The duo criticised the Union Minister for presenting misleading figures to the people of Himachal Pradesh. They claimed that the funds provided by the Centre were part of the routine annual financial allotments to all states under the federal structure and were not exclusive to disaster relief. “The state would have received these funds even in the absence of any disaster. The state government is ready to furnish a detailed account of every rupee received from the central government as and when Nadda asks for it,” they said.

The ministers said that the government had launched numerous schemes during its tenure to serve the underprivileged and marginalized communities.